1. Rishi Sunak leads the first ballot in the Conservative leadership race with 88 votes
2. Penny Mordaunt gets 67 votes and Liz Truss secures 50 votes
3. Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt fail to achieve the required 30 votes and exit the contest
4. Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and Tom Tugendhat are all also among the remaining six candidates going through to another vote tomorrow
5. Earlier Boris Johnson told MPs that he was "leaving with my head held high"
6. Labour's Sir Keir Starmer attacked tax and spending pledges set out by Tory leadership candidates, but Johnson said their commitments are "very good"
7. The government will table a confidence vote in itself - due next week - after blocking a Labour bid

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https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-politics-62144706

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Russia’s Foreign Ministry has blasted “Russophobic” remarks by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who promised to “continue to lead the free world” against Moscow and ensure Ukraine’s victory. Truss made the remarks during a campaign event for Tory leadership on Thursday.

The aspiring PM candidate, who scored third in Thursday’s ballot, bragged about her ability to “deliver”and make “tough” decisions, listing her staunch support for Kiev as an example of her decision-making abilities. 

“I stood up to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin by targeting Russia with the toughest sanctions his regime has ever seen. And I would continue to lead the free world in opposing Putin and making sure that Ukraine prevails,” Truss stated.

The remark was not taken lightly in Moscow, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blasting her words as “Russophobic” and “invariably steeped in painful aggression and nationalism.”Amid the ongoing Tory leadership campaign, Truss “has begun spewing threats towards our country and its leadership and wants to achieve a ‘Ukrainian victory’ over Russia,” in an effort to “fulfill her compulsive ambitions,” according to Zakharova.

“[Truss’] ambition alone to ‘lead the free world’, in an effort to resist Russia, speaks volumes. She looks like a second-rate politician afflicted by megalomania. And she is doing all of this instead of addressing the issues at home, which are plenty,” she said in a statement.

The proclaimed efforts to somehow “defeat” Russia are likely an attempt to “distract voters” from the real problems the UK has been experiencing, Zakharova said.

“Our response to belligerent outbursts by the British Foreign Secretary, who prefers riding tanks over engaging in serious diplomacy, and her determination to ‘defeat’ Russia, is straightforward – go ahead and try. Many have tried in the centuries-old history of our country. As everyone knows, intelligent people learn from other people’s mistakes. Liz Truss could learn from her own mistakes,” Zakharova concluded.

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https://www.rt.com/russia/559003-moscow-responds-londons-threats-truss/

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Boris Johnson, who was forced to step down as British premier and the head of the conservative party last Thursday, is busy trying to prevent one of his former ministers from winning the Tory leadership race, The Times has claimed.

Johnson has reportedly been calling on his fellow Conservatives to vote for any candidate except Rishi Sunak – the former chancellor of the Exchequer in Johnson’s cabinet, who eventually turned on his embattled boss. 

In its report on Friday, the British newspaper alleged that Johnson has been holding private conversations with the candidates who have already dropped out of the contest for the party’s top position, urging them to back “anyone but Rishi.” 

An unnamed source told The Times that “the whole No 10 team hates Rishi. It’s personal. It’s vitriolic. They don’t blame Saj [Sajid Javid] for bringing him down. They blame Rishi. They think he was planning this for months.”

Sunak announced he was stepping down as chancellor last Tuesday, minutes after Health Secretary Sajid Javid tendered his own resignation. This sparked a domino effect of sorts, with dozens more ministers and government officials vacating their posts, which eventually brought about Johnson’s own downfall.  

According to another Times source, the prime minister had expressed concern that Sunak would go “soft” on Russia, should he be elected. Speaking to journalists, one of the former chancellor’s allies, however, denied that Sunak was planning to do so. 

Meanwhile, an anonymous ally of Johnson’s was cited by the outlet as saying that it was not true that Johnson wanted “anyone but Rishi.” The source, though, did confirm there was a sense of resentment over the ex-chancellor’s resignation, as well as his failure to present a growth strategy in his last months in office.

The paper also claimed the former Tory leader had made it known that of all the candidates to become his successor, he favored foreign secretary Liz Truss most. 

Speaking publicly, however, Johnson said he would not endorse any one candidate or get involved in the leadership race in any way. 

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https://www.rt.com/news/559059-media-johnson-against-rishi-sunak-candidacy/

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